Alberta is lifting its pause on developing renewable energy—but with an enhanced set of rules the province believes will make the playing field clearer for everyone.
“We’ve been doing the work to ensure that we have clear rules for the regulator, investors, municipalities, and Alberta landowners,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told a news conference.
That means, for example, that on class 1 and 2 farmlands, projects will not be allowed unless the developer can show that both crops and livestock can co-exist with the renewable project.
The province is also setting up 35-kilometre buffer zones around protected areas and “pristine landscapes.” New wind projects will not be permitted in those zones, and other developments will be subject to a visual impact assessment before getting the green light.
“Albertans have been vocal that they don’t want large-scale developments to interfere with our province’s most beautiful natural features,” Ms. Smith said. “You cannot build wind turbines the size of the Calgary tower in front of a UNESCO World Heritage site.”
Ms. Smith also said the province will engage in meaningful consultation with First Nations for projects on Crown land, adding such projects will proceed on a “case by case” basis.
In addition, municipalities will automatically get the right to participate in hearings before the AUC on new projects. And developers will have to provide securities or bonds upfront to handle reclamation costs.
But the fast growth also meant problems—from projects using up valuable agricultural land, to making sure renewable capacity could be matched by “baseline” power from natural gas for the times when wind and solar were not working.
Ms. Smith told the news conference the concerns about reliable power remain.
“We instituted the pause for one simple reason: we needed an affordable and reliable grid,” she said.
“Renewables have a place in our energy mix, but the fact remains that they are intermittent and unreliable. They are not the silver bullet for Alberta’s electricity needs,” she added.
Ms. Smith pointed to Jan. 13, when brutal cold prompted an emergency alert asking people to reduce power use.
”There was zero solar, and there was seven megawatts of wind,” she said, at a time when the province was using over 12,000 megawatts of power. “So we have to plan for the worst-case scenario and do our projections about what we think our electricity demand is going to be,” she added.
The premier said the province is expecting around 2,700 megawatts of natural gas baseload power to come on stream this year, which will buy them some “wiggle room” to expand renewables.
“My minister has suggested that we’re going to need to double our baseload energy need by 2050. We have to make sure that we’re pacing and bringing on renewables and baseload power at the same time,” she said.
Nathan Neudorf, minister of affordability and utilities, pointed out that when the pause on renewables was brought in, there were 13 renewable projects on the books waiting for approval. Since then, he said, that number has doubled to 26.
“Construction of previously approved projects continued uninterrupted, existing renewable infrastructure was unaffected,” said Mr. Neudorf.
Reaction to the announcement is generally favourable, but also cautious—because there are a lot of details to be worked out.
“Almost all of it is something that our landowner groups had been asking for,” said Daryl Bennett, a director with the Action Surface Rights. “There’s still a lot of details that haven’t been released,” he told The Epoch Times, such as how it is decided whether livestock and energy projects can co-exist on the same land.
“We understand what they’re saying. But I’m sure landowners and the companies are still unsure of well, what does that mean?” Mr. Bennett said, adding that the 35-kilometer buffer zone around important “viewscapes” is also a question mark.
“That could take up a lot of land. Until we know exactly which viewscapes they’re referring to,” he said.
Minister Neudorf admitted to reporters that what defines a viewscape is still up in the air.
“There is no universal definition for that. Our government will continue to work on policy,” he said.
One industry group said it likes much of the announcement, but also has concerns.
The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) favors the rules on Crown land, municipal participation, and reclamation security.
More Changes
The government made it clear the work is not done. For example, there are upcoming changes to electrical transmission rules that could affect the cost of power projects.“Changes are expected in the coming months,” said Mr. Neudorf. “All energy projects should expect these changes to touch on how transmission costs are allocated.”
Mr. Neudorf added the changes are based on the first of two reports the AUC is working on.
“By the end of 2024, our government intends to bring forward the necessary policy, legislative, and regulatory changes required to set a clear and responsible path forward for renewable project development,” he said.
